The Jameel Fund for Infectious Disease Research and Innovation was announced in April 2021 to drive innovative approaches to tackling the global threat posed by infectious diseases.

Supported by donations from Community Jameel, the fund provides grants of up to $65,000 for short-term, high-impact projects that advance our ability to understand, prevent, diagnose, and treat coronaviruses and other infectious diseases.  

The first round of funding supported projects starting in August 2021 that are focused on the transmission of coronaviruses, including COVID-19, SARS and MERS, and the pathogenesis and transmission of these diseases. In August 2022, the second round of projects to be supported by the Jameel Fund was announced. Following on from the success of the first round, the second round of funding will focus on coronaviruses and other respiratory viruses. 

Research teams working on complementary research projects at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah are also being funded, with a view to strengthening research collaborations between Imperial and Saudi universities in this field.